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Federal OSHA and Cal/OSHA reach agreement on enforcement authority

Washington — OSHA and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health have a new agreement that clarifies which agency has enforcement authority in certain situations.




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U.S. military rolling out targeted mental health care for service members

Washington — A new approach to assisting military personnel who have mental health concerns “helps people get the specific care they need in a timely manner,” a military health care provider says.




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OOIDA petitions FMCSA to change hours-of-service rules

Grain Valley, MO — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has sent a petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking to alter current hours-of-service regulations, the association announced Feb. 14.




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FMCSA clarifies hours-of-service rules on agricultural commodities, personal conveyance

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued guidance intended to clarify the agricultural commodities exemption and the “personal conveyance” provision in driver hours-of-service regulations, according to separate notices published in the June 7 Federal Register.




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Lawmakers urge DOT to deny pre-emption petition on California’s meal and rest break rules

Washington — A group of 19 congressional Democrats is urging, “in the strongest possible terms,” the Department of Transportation to deny a recent American Trucking Associations petition on California’s meal and rest break rules for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA considering petition for HOS exemption for livestock, insect, aquatic animal haulers

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on a petition that aims to amend hours-of-service requirements for haulers of livestock, insects and aquatic animals, allowing for a 16-hour on-duty period after 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time, the agency announced in the Feb. 6 Federal Register.




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OMB begins review of FMCSA proposal on hours-of-service rules for agricultural commodities

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 17 submitted for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget an advance notice of proposed rulemaking intended to help the agency assess whether to clarify the definitions of “agricultural commodity” or “livestock” in FMCSA’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA seeks comment on definition of ‘agricultural commodities’

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking input on whether it should clarify or revise the definitions of “agricultural commodity” or “livestock” in its hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA announces long-awaited proposed rule to amend trucker hours-of-service regs

Washington — After numerous delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated proposed rule the agency claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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Washington state latest object of petition to preempt trucker meal, rest break rules

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment as it considers a trucking industry petition to preempt Washington state’s meal and rest break rules for commercial motor vehicle drivers, less than a year after granting a similar request in California.




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CVSA reminds truckers: No ‘soft enforcement’ for ELD transition

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle inspectors will not observe a “soft enforcement” grace period for drivers still using automatic onboard recording devices to track their hours of service after Dec. 16, and such drivers will be placed out of service for violating Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance warns in a Dec. 2 press release.




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Group petitions FMCSA to delay final rule amending trucker hours-of-service regulations

Washington — A coalition of safety advocacy groups, in conjunction with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider a controversial final rule the agency claims will add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA seeks comment on clarification of ‘agricultural commodities’

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for input on an interim final rule that clarifies the definitions of the terms “any agricultural commodity” and “livestock” in the agency’s hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.




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FMCSA grants regulatory relief to drivers taking emergency supplies to storm-hit states

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced temporary relief from hours-of-service requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers delivering “direct assistance” to emergency efforts in states affected by severe winter weather.




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Safe parking and speed limiters are some of trucking industry’s top concerns, survey finds

San Diego — Several safety-related issues earned a spot on the American Transportation Research Institute’s recently released list of top trucking industry concerns.




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Trucking safety advocates push for action on automatic braking and speed limiters

Washington — The Truck Safety Coalition is calling on the Department of Transportation to make automatic emergency braking and speed-limiting devices a requirement on commercial trucks and buses.




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Cell Phone Policy Kit for Employers

The National Safety Council has prepared a toolkit for employers including sample cell phone policies and more.




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Workplace safety toolkit for Canadian immigrants

A new tool developed for immigrant workers in Ontario is intended to help them adjust to the province's workplace safety rules, according to the Institute for Work & Health, a nonprofit research organization.




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OSHA releases web tools for limiting chemical exposures

Washington – Calling current permissible exposure limits “antiquated” and “dangerously out of date,” OSHA administrator David Michaels unveiled two web-based resources he said will help companies keep workers safer around chemicals.




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CPWR website offers ‘Create-a-Plan’ for reducing silica exposure

Silver Spring, MD – A new online tool from the Center for Construction Research and Training (better known as CPWR) allows users to confidentially save, retrieve and edit plans for reducing worker exposure to silica.




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Universities partner on toolkit to improve health, safety and wellness

Lowell, MA – A new online toolkit aims to help employers integrate their health, safety and wellness programs.




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OSHA releases web resource for hospital workers

Washington – OSHA on Jan. 15 launched a web resource to help prevent injuries among hospital workers.




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Toolkit offers strategies for improving flu shot rates among nursing home workers

A new online toolkit offers guidance on increasing flu vaccination coverage among workers in long-term health care facilities.




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Roofing contractor safety website offers webinars, toolbox talks

The National Roofing Contractors Association and roofing manufacturer GAF have teamed up to create a website intended to help roofing contractors keep their employers safe.




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NIOSH, OSHA offer toolkit on respiratory protection for health care workers

Washington – A new toolkit from OSHA and NIOSH aims to help protect health care workers from transmissible diseases and other respiratory hazards.




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Nova Scotia, industry group release safety toolkit for small businesses

Liverpool, Nova Scotia – Small to medium-sized employers have a new online resource to help them create a safer workplace.




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MIOSHA offers kit, video to help medical and dental offices comply with regs

Lansing, MI – The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released a toolkit and video to help medical and dental offices comply with state health standards.




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NORA Manufacturing Council unveils website to help with lockout, other energy control programs

Washington — The National Occupational Research Agenda Manufacturing Sector Council has created an online resource guide intended to assist organizations in beginning, maintaining or enhancing their hazardous energy control programs.




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New NIOSH training tool: mine hazard recognition software

Washington — NIOSH has unveiled a beta version of an interactive, PC-based simulation software tool aimed at improving hazard recognition in mines.




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National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction to kick off with webinar

Washington — The eighth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction is set to kick off on May 3 with a webinar hosted by OSHA, NIOSH, and CPWR – the Center for Construction Research and Training.




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Washington L&I moving to revise fall protection rules to align with OSHA

Tumwater, WA — Responding to concerns that some of its fall protection rules aren’t “at least as effective” as federal OSHA’s general industry and construction standards, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has initiated rulemaking to revise certain provisions of its Unified Safety Standards for Fall Protection.




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As slip and fall fatalities continue to occur, MSHA focuses on fall protection

Arlington, VA — Fatalities resulting from a slip and fall account for 12% of total miner deaths this year to date – more than twice the percentage reported in 2021, a recent analysis by the Mine Safety and Health Administration shows.




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Washington L&I revises fall protection rules to align with federal OSHA

Tumwater, WA — Updated fall protection rules in Washington state went into effect Nov. 1, bringing them in line with that of federal OSHA.




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Keep construction sites safe during winter: NYC has tips

New York — Remove all snow, ice and other debris from construction jobsites to help reduce slip and trip hazards.




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7 common workplace safety hazards (revisited)

A follow-up – eight years later – to one of our most popular articles.




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15th Annual SDM's Top Systems Integrators: Some Halted Spending, Fierce Competition

In the security systems integration business, fewer than 20 firms operate globally or nationally. The majority of integrators are regional and local businesses, which depend on construction and spending




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The 18th Annual Top Systems Integrators Report: Neither Stellar Nor Stagnant

A 9 percent decrease in the 2012 revenue for SDM’s Top Systems Integrators is a deceiving number because individual company results did not recede to that extent.  




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SDM 2018 Top Systems Integrators Report: A Security Transformation Is Underway

Security integrators are benefiting from vital technology innovations that are far greater than just simple upgrades.




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SDM 2019 Top Systems Integrators Report: Security Projects Coming From All Market Sectors

Security integrators describe the 2018 market for integrated security systems as “strong,” “hot” and “accelerated” — all apt terms, given that the nation’s largest integrators grew their systems integration revenue by at least 14 percent last year.




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Top Systems Integrators Report 2021: Hitting the Sweet Spot

Security integrators faced no shortage of curveballs in 2020, but many in the top 100 managed to stay ahead in the count and find successes.




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Top Brands of the SDM 2022 TSI Security Integrators

Security integrators had a tough challenge in 2021 and continuing in 2022 — supply chain shortages and rising and/or constantly changing pricing.




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SDM 2023 TSI Security Integrators' Favorite Brands

Which manufacturers and distributors do the largest security integrators use most? This Top Systems Integrators brand-usage report lists the companies that earned the majority of their business in 2022.




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SDM 2024 TSI Security Integrators’ Brands of Choice

Here are the vendors and distributors that earned the trust of the top 100 security integrators in 2023.




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Lack of Positive Train Control system a factor in fatal rail incident, NTSB concludes

Washington — Fully operational Positive Train Control technology “would have intervened” to stop a fatal Amtrak passenger train derailment in which crew members were inadequately trained and tested on various aspects of a new route, the National Transportation Safety Board has concluded after its investigation into the December 2017 incident in DuPont, WA.




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‘Finish the job’: NTSB member leads push on Positive Train Control implementation

New Haven, CT — National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and railroad safety advocates repeated their call for full implementation of Positive Train Control – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error.




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Positive Train Control implementation: Update planned for upcoming Railroad Safety Advisory Committee meeting

Washington — An update on the implementation of Positive Train Control – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – is on the preliminary agenda for the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee’s next meeting, set for Nov. 26.




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FRA proposes changes to Positive Train Control regulations

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration wants to revise its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.




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NTSB satisfied with railroads’ progress on Positive Train Control recommendations

Washington — The National Transportation Safety Board is closing three safety recommendations related to the installation of Positive Train Control – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error.




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FRA issues final rule amending Positive Train Control regs

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration is revising its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.




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Design issue could allow Positive Train Control systems to be disabled, FRA warns

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory to railroads and rail employees regarding a recently identified interface design issue that relates to how Positive Train Control systems interface with locomotive and cab car braking systems.